New England Distribution

Non-native: introduced
(intentionally or
unintentionally); has become naturalized.

County documented: documented
to exist in the county by
evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers
those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).

State documented: never been
documented from the
county, but known from the state. May be present. Or,
may be restricted to a small area or a habitat (alpine,
marsh, etc.), so unlikely found in some
counties.

Note: when native and non-native
populations both exist in a county, only native status
is shown on the map.

North America Distribution

Facts About

Black ash is a slow-growing tree of northern wooded swamps. Though it rarely attains a wide girth, this slender tree can reach heights of 90 feet (27 m) or more. The species is dioecious; that is, male and female flowers are borne on different trees. It can also reproduce asexually by suckering. The fibrous, easy-to-split wood, is used for making baskets -- hence one of its common names, "hoop ash." Its seeds are important food sources for wetland birds.

Habitat

Floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forests, swamps

Characteristics

Habitat

wetlands

New England state

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Growth form

the plant is a tree

Leaf type

the leaf blade is compound (i.e., made up of two or more discrete leaflets

Leaves per node

there are two leaves per node along the stem

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

Leaf duration

the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)

armature on plant

the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns

Leaf stalk

the leaves have leaf stalks

Fruit type (general)

the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

Bark texture

the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated

Twig winter color

green

white

Bud scale number

there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed